My third kayak was certainly a charm, for about six months.
At the time racing really interested me, so I was looking for a racing boat. Nigh on to impossible to find on the local market, so I got the best I could.
Found out that kayak manufacturers lie about all kinds of things,
Try before you buy. Preferably for an hour or so.
The Wilderness Systems Pungo 12 might fill the bill. It is a sit-in “recreational yak,” with a long cockpit opening with plenty of room for a pooch. You won’t get a cooler behind the seat, but a small insulated tote does fit, and mine holds three liters. This is one of the easiest and most comfortable recreational kayaks to paddle. It is still being manufactured, after about a 20-year run and thus they are widely available second-hand.
Shortcomings: It weighs about 50 lbs. It is a premium boat and priced accordingly although good buys on lightly used ones do come up. If considering used, particularly check the seat back, its hinge, and the supports on both sides that hold the seat and the strap for adjusting the tilt of the seat back.
Good luck.
If you blade is going completely under water and you’re not having to lean excessively and your knuckles aren’t bounding off the kayak not sure you need a longer paddle.
REI suggests
Thanks Willowleaf, Buffalo Alice, & Castoff!
FYI, the Pungo is made by Wilderness Systems, not Perception (just to avoid confusion).
I was about to suggest that myself. A 12’ Pungo with an added flotation bag in the bow might be a great choice! Stable, less spud-like than a lot of the rotomolded rec boats. Wide open cockpit, so you can soak up the sun.
I can’t address the desire to have the cooler right there. If that is an important factor, I assume this boat is more for casual floats with friends rather than longer distances, harder efforts (training), camping, etc.
I second (more like 5th or 6th) the solo pack canoe suggestion. The pack position would be more like a wide-open kayak, so might be a great choice. Stability and speed would depend on the particular boat, but sitting on the floor, using a double blade, would give you the most stability combined with the most speed and directional control for whatever canoe you are in.
The OP hasn’t mentioned ballpark price range, but based on the first two boats I would guess they aren’t quite ready to move up to the $3000 Trillium that someone suggested (even used ones are hard to find for less the $2000-$2500). I think the Trillium is sort of the Northstar go-cart canoe, besides, so the stability may or may not be what they are looking for. I wanted one, but wanted to paddle with my 65 lb dog, so opted for the NW Solo. Money may not be a deterrent, and if that is the case then it’s a fantastic boat….but if it were me and I had already purchased and regretted two boats in rapid succession, I’d probably hesitate to pay a lot for the third.
A good used boat (well-used, in fact) might be a good route, until you know what works for you. Then splurge later. If you have the option to try boats out first (I never have), then definitely do that! Our first boats were extremely used former rentals, so the investment was tiny. That helped us know what we were looking for.
EDIT: That Jackson would indeed be slow: 10’-8” x 33”. The 33” would make it stable, but the 10’-8” makes it slow - and together they make it even slower. And it’s listed at 64 lbs. The Pungo is 12’ x I believe 29”, so wide, but not unreasonably so. And 49 lbs.
Also: dumping out of a boat once is one thing. It may be a matter of you getting used to it, rather than it being unstable - there is a adjustment period. But you said the seat was high, so that would affect your center of gravity. I can’t tell how high. If it happens frequently, that is another thing. But remember it is possible to trade off speed for stability, so you can give up long-term enjoyment in an effort to feel immediately comfortable.
I have a swift saranc 15LC
There are many choices in the recreation + small dog class!
If keeping up with others is an issue, consider going from 10’ to 12’ in length and a little narrower. A good hull design does not have to be barge-wide to be stable.
I’d recommend the Old Town Loon 120 for consideration. It will be faster than the Jackson and has a good blend of maneuverability, straight tracking, and incredible stability. It’s 10 lbs lighter and 3 in. narrower than the Jackson so you may not need a longer paddle.The hull is polyethylene (similar to your Jackson) - it’s tough. Also, Old Town seats are among the most comfortable in the industry IMO, and the cockpit is 4 1/2 feet long … good for for pooches and for catching some rays.
For a few hundred more, the Eddyline Sandpiper is worth a look. It’s lighter still at 38 lbs (26 lbs less than the Jackson!), 28" wide, and a slightly smaller 4’ cockpit. Like the Loon, it’s incredibly stable, turns easily, and tracks very well. It’s hull is thermoformed using a proprietary material they call Carbonlite. Durability is excellent. Thermoformed hulls tend to collect surface scratches, but they’re less visible on white. My understanding is that Hurricane’s Trylon hull is similar to Carbonlite, but there are few Hurricane’s in my neck of the woods so I have no actual experience to share.
Hi Sassy!
It looks like you’ve got some homework to do. I see lots of great suggestions, to dig through Hopefully, this won’t feel too overwhelming. Just take your time.
I went through a similar kayak buying process, and picked up a few notions, over the decades, learning a bit, from my experience.
I’ve found that every kayak is a compromise. Rather than find one boat which gives you speed, primary stability, secondary stability, storage, weight, tracking, comfort, durability, etc, you might be better off deciding which quality is the most important, for you, and adjusting your search with that goal in mind.
A couple notes, to consider:
You bought some good boats. But they may not be right, for your needs. Both Crescent and Jackson make solid vessels, so, no shame in your selections.
When you hear the phrase, primary stability, that refers to the initial feeling of tippiness, you sense, when you first sit in / on your boat. Secondary stability refers to how far you can lean your boat, before it goes over.
While the seat on the Crescent is very comfortable, it does raise your center of gravity, which impacts both your primary, and secondary stability. That raised center of gravity contributed greatly, to your inversion. You could learn to paddle that boat, and not flip, however, you might always feel nervous, based on past experience.
Personally, that would be my first suggestion. It’s the cheapest way to get you back on the water. Only you can determine if that’s a deal breaker. By learning your boat, figuring out what you can, and cannot do, with a high center of gravity, you will eventually reach a point where flipping is in your rear view mirror. Take it somewhere where you don’t mind getting wet. Bring some friends. Try different things. Yes, you’ll flip. But, you’ll get to a point where you won’t. At that point you’ll have a good boat, which is comfortable, reasonably quick, lightweight, and stable.
It’s worth considering.
If you do opt for getting another boat, here are some things to ponder:
All else being equal, a sit in side kayak, (SinK), will be a bit faster, (more efficient), and lighter, than a sit on top, (SoT). A SoT will have better primary stability, but worse secondary stability. That may sound counterintuitive, but you’ll find it is true. The rounder hull of the SinK allows you to keep the keel pointed down, in waves, wakes, and such, by adjusting your core, where the flatter hull of the SoT feels rock solid, until it reaches a certain point. Then it goes over.
A third option is a hybrid. It’s like a cross between a canoe, and a kayak. In the aforementioned qualities, (speed / weight / tracking / etc), hybrids tend to fall somewhere in between SinKs and SoTs. For what it’s worth, in my quest for the perfect boat, spanning a couple decades, I finally decided that the most important quality, for me, was comfort. I would rather have a boat I can sit in, all day, than one which gets to the ramp ahead of everyone else. My current favorite boat is one of these hybrids, the Old Town Next. It’s lighter, and faster, than my Tarpon 120, but slower than my Tsunami 14.5. Since I like to kayak camp, the Next is beneficial in that it also carries a lot more gear than my other boats.
There’s an axiom in kayaking that I have ignored, many times, to my peril. “Try it, before you buy it”. It sounds trite, I know. Especially so, when you consider that so many kayak dealers don’t offer test drives. Don’t let that stop you. Once you decide which qualities to focus on, hit your local kayaking forums / social media sites, and ask for recommendations. Typically, folks will give you a bunch of suggestions covering boats they happen to own. That’s a priceless opportunity for you.
When someone says, “You should try ______ . I love mine!”, ask them if you can test drive it. Bring your boat, so they’ll have something to paddle. Don’t limit yourself to just a few minutes putt putting around the launch. Take at least half an hour, on the water, so you really learn that boat. Make some notes on what you liked about it, and what you don’t. These notes will narrow down your search until one rises, like the proverbial cream, to the top.
Happy paddling!
-Sean
I like speed and handling but comfort for me is also the first consideration with weight a close second.
Since comfort has been brought up, I want to add to my endorsement of folding kayaks that every one I have owned (8 models to date) has been extremely comfortable. They have all had various versions of a fabric sling design plus inflatable component seats with low back band configuration. Not only very supportive, but they adapt to your keister size and flex a bit with your torso movements. I find that reduces pressure points on body parts over long hours in the cockpit. Plus being able to adjust the seat height a bit can help fine tune center of gravity issues when the boat is laden or unladen or conditions become challenging.
The seats in my Pakboat and Feathercraft kayaks all have inflation bladders under thin paddling so the height and even pitch of the seat can be infinitely adjusted. They are also easily adjusted fore and aft by sliding along the frames from which they are suspended. Pakboat uses an adjustable padded backband and the Feathercraft seat back is low and inflatable so it provides great lumbar support. Feathercraft used to even sell the seats separately and people would buy them (and FCs excellent rudder system) to retrofit to other boats.
The French company Nautiraid that still manufacturers high end folding kayaks sells their seat separately for retrofit. This link shows what they look like and they are very similar to the Feathercraft (inflatable backrest example) and Pakboat (sling design example) versions.
https://nautiraid.com/en/catalog/accessories/seats/
I have owned over 20 kayaks and by far the most comfortable for all day paddles have been the folders.
By the way, the photo below is a Nautiraid folding sea kayak. Not exactly a “pond and pool toy”:
Ended up driving to Knoxville, TN to try out a few different kayaks/pack canoes. I purchased an Eddyline Sandpiper 12. My dog will fit, but I’ll have to settle for a small, soft sided cooler. It sure does paddle nicely though.
Good luck being satisfied by your 3rd kayak. Kayaks are kinda like shoes, fishing poles, or cars/trucks…you need a different one for different purposes. After going through about 17 kayaks over the first 20 years of paddling, I finally found two that are my “go to” hulls, but others jump out as being a better hull for a specific day of paddling from time to time.
The Sandpiper is a great small/med dog flat water kayak IMO. At 38 lbs, it’s lighter than most at that price point too.
